Episode Overview

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Ripley's Believe It Or Not - 1 Minute Episodes xx-xx-xx (352) Name a Tower
Release Date: November 9, 2025

This episode features a brief, classic segment from "Ripley's Believe It Or Not," exploring strange and fascinating historical anecdotes. The main theme of the episode centers on how a tower in Rome came to be named after a monkey, touching on superstition, unusual healing practices, and the power of a miraculous event in shaping legend.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Unusual Folk Remedy (00:42)

• The segment opens with a curious belief from rural Romania:
  • Romanian peasants believed that having a trained bear walk back and forth on the back of a person suffering from rheumatism could cure them.
  • This underscores the bizarre and often extreme lengths people have historically gone to in the name of healing.

Notable Quote:
"Romanian peasants believe that a man suffering from rheumatism can recover his full health by having a trained bear walk back and forth on his back for a half hour. Believe it or not."
— Narrator [00:42]

2. The Naming of the Monkey’s Tower (00:57)

• The primary story recounts a near-tragic episode in Rome, connected to the powerful Frangipani family:
  • A monkey, copying the behavior of a child's nurse, snatched a baby and climbed to the top of a tower.
  • The monkey proceeded to dress and undress the child while the family and onlookers watched in horror.
  • The child's mother prayed frantically at the base of the tower.
  • The story ends happily: the monkey returned the baby unharmed, answering the mother's prayers.
• To commemorate this miraculous event, a light has reportedly burned atop the tower for six centuries.

Notable Quotes:
"A monkey imitating a child's nurse suddenly grabbed an infant belonging to the powerful Frangipani family and climbed with it to the top of this tower. There it dressed and undressed the infant. As the mother, frantic with fear, prayed below, her prayers were answered. The monkey climbed down with the unharmed baby in commemoration."
— Narrator [01:05]

"A light has been burning on the top of the tower for the past six centuries. Believe it or not."
— Narrator [01:18]

Memorable Moments and Tone

• The dramatic retelling of both the folk remedy and the monkey’s tower legend highlights the mixture of skepticism and wonder that defines Ripley's.
• The repeated refrain—“Believe it or not”—invites listeners to both question and marvel at these stranger-than-fiction tales.
• The storytelling is concise, vivid, and engaging, evoking the atmosphere of old-time radio.

Timestamps of Notable Segments

• 00:42: Introduction of the Romanian bear remedy for rheumatism
• 00:57: Beginning of the Monkey’s Tower story and the Frangipani family incident
• 01:18: Conclusion with the lasting commemoration of the event

Final Thoughts

This episode exemplifies the charm of old-time radio’s storytelling, blending bizarre history and human drama in less than two minutes. The stories shared—whether the peculiar cure or the miraculous rescue—invite listeners into a world where the truth is indeed stranger than fiction.